The best designers of the red dot award: product design 2006: Rui Sampaio de Faria, José Carlos Mendes and Pedro Cunha Monteiro

Rui Sampaio de Faria, José Carlos Mendes and Pedro Cunha Monteiro have been honoured with the red dot: best of the best for their sophisticated innovation „Pluma“. This butane gas cylinder merges an innovative combination of materials with both a high level of aesthetics and an ergonomic design. The three designers have personally explained their design:

"The consumer pattern of bottled gas in Portugal is defined by rational and economic reasons, whereas desire is almost non-existent. Our challenge was to develop a bottle with not only half the weight and twice the safety performance of traditional gas cylinders but also with affective and emotional values and tactile experience. Its rounded overall shape and the clear contours of its coloured body are alluring – and at the same time set a new standard for lightweight LPG cylinders. Thus we managed to design a gas cylinder compliant with the necessary ergonomic requirements and we provided it with functional and technological innovations, as well as with values such as seduction and desire, which leads to an all new perspective of gas cylinders."

Bird’s feather – the symbiosis of culture and form
Gas in Spain or Portugal – unlike in the Northern European countries – is only delivered through a central gas main in the larger cities. Most people in Spain and Portugal, thus, cook with butane gas from a cylinder; in these countries the gas cylinder is part of the daily culture. Against this backdrop, the Pluma is a sophisticated innovation: its friendly and organic appearance is based on a symbiosis of different materials and their specific properties. The gas cylinder combines two parts: a gas liner and an outer skin. The latter consists of a full jacket made up of four separate parts – a body, an inner lid and two handles, formed by injection moulding of high-density polyethylene. The use of heat-cured polymers is an environmentally compatible solution in terms of production and gives the gas cylinder a pleasant touch. Moreover, this kind of plastic is highly durable and, thus, appropriate for the daily requirements of a gas cylinder. The outer container comprises a liner made of thin pressed steel plate, which on the inside is entirely coated with layers of Twintex – a combination of polypropylene compound fibre and glass fibre. The surface is additionally finished with a protective white gel coat. Due to this combination of materials, the inner liner is given higher strength as well as a high degree of safety performance. This butane gas cylinder merges an innovative combination of materials with both a high level of aesthetics and an ergonomic design. Thus, it also gives a new form to items for everyday use. In order to achieve its place in Mediterranean culture, the cylinder has been given the name “Pluma” which actually means “bird’s feather” in Spanish or Portuguese.

About the designers

Rui Sampaio de Faria, born in Mozambique in 1965, studied industrial design in Lisbon, Paris and Milan and afterwards he designed automobiles, motorcycles, furniture, and packaging. In 1995, he joined Novodesign in Lisbon as a senior designer, was appointed design manager in 1996, and design director in 1997. Since 2001, Rui Sampaio de Faria has been the director of the industrial design team at Brandia Central in Lisbon. He taught at the Universidade Lusíada and is a lecturer at various design colleges and universities.

José Carlos Mendes, born in 1973 in Portugal, studied graphic design from 1994 to 1997 in Lisbon. From 1996 to 1998, he worked at BBDO Portugal and, subsequently, joined Novodesign in 1998. He went to Brandia as a senior graphic designer in 2000 and to Brandia Central in 2006.

Pedro Cunha Monteiro, born in Portugal in 1977, studied psychology in Lisbon. In 2001, he started to work for Novodesign and, one year later, joined DesignForce as a brand strategist. In 2003, he returned to Brandia (former Novodesign and now Brandia Central). As senior strategy planner he is responsible for strategic branding and communication concepts.